Schools

250 students will compete for the opportunity to travel to the National Competition in Maryland

AUGUSTA – On Wednesday, March 23 the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) will host 250 students from across the state as they take part in Maine History Day, an annual educational competition for all Maine students in grades 6 through 12. An award ceremony will be held at 2:00 pm in Jewett Hall at UMA.

Maine History Day is part of a nationwide program involving all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Maine State winners may take part in the national competition at the University of Maryland in June.

Creative Problem Solving program offers educational enrichment to Maine students

Sanford, Maine -- Many of the best and brightest kids Maine has to offer will put their skills to the test in the largest creative problem solving competition in the state. Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament will be held March 26th, 2011 at Sanford Schools in Sanford, Maine. More than 1000 students from elementary to high school will compete in this all day event, showcasing colorful scenery, dramatic presentations, engineering marvels, wild props, and thousands of laughs. Everything is student created and all of it sure to impress.

Sanford, Maine – On Tuesday, March 8th, 2011, Willard School in Sanford will welcome 30 members of the surrounding community to the school’s first annual Math Fair. Each community member will be paired with a Willard educator and will share the various ways mathematics is used in their field on a daily basis. In an effort to engage students at the 4th - 6th grade school in their math education, Willard School has reached out to people in and around the Sanford community in the hope that students will see that math education has a real purpose. Students sometimes ask “when am I ever going to need to use this?” Willard teachers think members of the workforce will be able to help students realize the answer to that question.

Stepping Stones Montessori School will host it's 10th annual open house on Saturday, March 5th, 2011. The school will be open from 10am-1pm for you to meet the teachers, explore the facility, or talk with other parents.

Maine students outperformed students in most other states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the only test of student achievement that allows comparison of student performance across states.

Maine tied for the fifth highest science score in grade 4 and tied for eighth highest in grade 8. By some measures, such as percent of student proficiency, Maine ranks even higher on the test, which was administered in 2009 and is being reported today.

Statewide at the fourth grade, 42 percent of students in Maine scored at the “proficient” level or above. In the eighth grade, 35 percent of students scored at or above the “proficient” level.

Maine’s lower-income students are doing well compared to in other states and the nation as a whole. In Maine, 29 percent of students eligible for free or reduced lunch in the 4th grade scored at or above the “proficient” level compared to 16 percent nationally.

Grants from Nellie Mae Education Foundation will support efforts to put students at the center of learning

Portland/North Berwick/Sanford, Maine – In an effort to prepare all of New England’s learners with the skills and knowledge they need for full participation in postsecondary education, work and life, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation promotes the integration of Student-Centered Learning across the region. Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (for work that will be done in partnership with Portland Public Schools), Maine School Administrative District #60 in North Berwick, and the Sanford School Department have each been selected to receive one-year, $200,000 planning grants from the Foundation.